Consensual Roleplay Rules
Mayday Due to certain situations that have transpired in other rooms, Dusk has a very clearly defined rule about consensual roleplay. No player is required to play through scenes that cross outside their comfort zone. If a scene becomes too graphically violent, too sexually explicit, too vulgar or starts to cross into topics and issues that make one or more players uncomfortable, players are entitled to ask that things be faded to black. The "safe word" to stop a scene that is going into uncomfortable waters is (( mayday )) 'which means that the scene is paused and players discuss it in PM or AIM and then come for a quick and un-detailed resolution. No Kill Rule Characters in Dusk are provided some protection against character death, for the purpose of building a better stories. Players should be and will be allowed to guide a good portion of their own character's fate. For this reason, no character can be killed, mutilated, violated, ghouled, undone, or one of the many other things that will have a permanent or lasting effect on them without player consent. This rule primarily governs player to player interactions, rather than staff to player interactions and does have its limits. *Characters who have become declared antagonists lose this protection. *Characters participating in staff-run plots or combat scenes that are declared in advance to be potentially lethal ''might ''die. Staff will not intentionally set out to kill characters in Dusk, and the HST reserves the right to mitigate character death in these scenarios upon review. We ''want players to not be mad/sad/bad OOC if a character dies and for it to be something that enhances story. However, we also want players to appreciate that if they intentionally put their characters into a combative situation that there are risks. Don't put your hand into a bee hive if you want to avoid being stung. More specifically, recognize that when character A attacks character B (physically or otherwise), they might have character C to contend with -- and hopefully character D will be sympathetic to and assist them. Enemies are dangerous. Allies are awesome. Wise characters pick both carefully. Players may choose to not have the no-kill rule apply to their own characters, but this must be presented in a way that makes it clear to players and storytellers alike. A note in the characters tags or such will do. Scenes themselves can also be declared as having a death risk if the players involved agree with such. This must be determined before the start of combat, and players must state that they are agreeing to it in room, where it can be seen by an ST and others. Characters that are antagonistic in nature – meaning they run opposed to the protagonists of the WtA and supporting venues – are not automatically stripped of this protection either. There is a difference between an opposed character type, and antagonistic actions. A Hunter: the Reckoning Defender might not be particularly fond of the existence of Werewolves, and no Werewolf would tolerate a Hunter. But that Hunter does not become a declared antagonist until he takes actions to harm and/or kill Werewolves. (This is just an example, and there are a myriad of ways to 'act against' so to speak.) When a character crosses that threshold, their player will be informed by staff. Character death, or the risk of such, should not sneak up on anyone in Dusk. However, in-character actions do have in-character consequences. The no-kill protection can be dropped under certain circumstances in which an ST feels the character is putting their own life at risk. Rolling badly and taking a killing blow in a spar is not one of these situations. Singlehandedly attempting to assault a BSD hive is. Your character also isn't likely to survive jumping off of a cliff. Play it smart. This rule is in place to promote storytelling. It allows us to give our heroes the heroic or epic deaths they deserve and also serves to protect players or characters from being railroaded due to OOC knowledge. Notes of Caution If player characters start getting played like they are antagonists to their own venue (Garou as example who break the Veil, take actions that intentionally lead to the death of another Garou or kinfolk, their player willingly gets them corrupted/tainted) their player will be told that their character's rank or status -- or even life -- is in jeopardy. The best way to avoid this is to avoid having your character act antagonistically towards members of their own venue and related allies, especially in ways that bring permanent harm to themselves or others. Not all antagonists are evil, some of them simply live outside the boundaries of what thier kind traditionally consider "courageous, honorable and/or wise" and they are perceived as a threat to the established order. Antagonists can be exceptionally sympathetic and have their own allies who will fight to the bitter end for them. It is always easier to dispatch the mooks known as generic antagonists when looking for pure combat action then dealing with the complexities of potentially lethal player vs. player combat. Not always as satisfying, but always easier. Thou Shalt Not Suffer Thy People To Tend Thy Sickness Also, characters that either start out or become so broken, tainted, corrupt, insane, misanthropic, sado-masochistic, deranged, etc., that they are a burden to their friends and family aren't a lot of fun for other people to play with -- especially as their friends and family. If other players warn you that they are starting to feel burned out from the caregiving, create your own new character to help ease the burden of giving your primary character what they are looking for or need, and take care of them personally. Signature Characters that become "too sick to live" will be changed to Antagonist status by the HST. That doesn't mean insta-death, but it means that they are now at risk. Being Good Company One final note that may seem to harsh and blunt to some: sometimes it's not the character, its the player who is so depressed, miserable, snarky, crude, or otherwise antagonistic and it's something emoted by them both IC and OOC. '''Dusk is a dramallama free zone. Its meant to be a friendly, upbeat atmosphere without ooc conflicts ruining people's good time. Players who ruin my good time will get uninvited from the room temporarily or permanently. This doesn't mean that folks who say a few cranky things when they are tired or stressed and lose their filter are going to be kicked off the island. When IC/OOC comments become overbearing and endless, when angry or hurt PMs flood my screen, when there's a bad vibe because someone is so unhappy with IRL that it emanates in what they post and constructive suggestions don't fix things..... those folks will need to go on mandatory LOA for a while for the sake of everyone else. Category:Rules & Policies Category:House Rules